Benjamin thomas webb



(No Model.)

B T. WEBB.

STEAM ENGTNE. No. 339,506. Patented Apr. 6, 1886.

I WITNESSW N/VVENTOR:

ATTORNEYS.

Miren drains iPn'rnivr @throne BENJAMIN THOMAS VEBB, OF BEUFORT, NORTHCAROLINA.

STEAM-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 339,506, dated April 6,1886.

Application filed November 21, 1885. Serial No. 183,518. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may con/cern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN THOMAS VEBB, of Beaufort, in the county ofCarteret and State of North Carolina, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in SteanrEngines, of which the following is aspeciiication,reference being had to the annexed drawings, forming a part thereof, inwhich- Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, of my improvedengine. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section taken on line a: inFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on line y y inFig. l.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in thediierent figures.

,The object of my invention is to provide means for converting thereciprocating motion of the engine-piston into rotary motion without theuse of a crank or of racks and pinions; also, to avoid the loss of powercommon to the use of the crank by employing a uniform leveragethroughout the entire stroke of the engine.

My invention consists in a frictioirwheel secured on the main shaft ofthe engine, and in a yoke carried by the piston-rod, arranged toalternately engage opposite sides of the friction-wheel, and in meansfor bringing the yoke into engagement with one or the other of the sidesofthe frictionwheel, according to the movements of the piston.

The cylinder A is of the usual description,

' provided with ports a a and b, a valve-chest,

B, and slide-valve C, of the usual description. The piston-rod D slidesthrough a stuffingbox, E, in the head of the cylinder A, and is securedto a standard, F, rising from the crosshead G, which slides in Ways H,secured on the bed of the engine. The cross-head G carries a yoke, I,formed of the parallel side pieces, J, and the connecting end pieces, cc', the end piece c' of the yoke I being pivoted on a stud, e,projecting from the standard F, so as to permit of a slight verticalmovement of the yoke I. Upon the main shaft K is secured afriction-wheel, L, which is of sufficient diameter to nearly ill thespace between the side bars, J J', of the yoke I, so that very littlemovement of the yoke I is required to bring either of its side bars, JJ', into frictional contact with the surface of the frictionwheel L.Standards M, secured to the base of the engine, supportthejournal-boxesf of the main shaft K, and also support above and belowthe friction-wheel L and the yoke I the steam-cylinders N N, Whose endsare opened toward the shaft K, and each cylinder N N contains a piston,G, carrying a yoke, P, in which is journalcd a roller, Q, which iscapable of being pressed by steam entering the cylinder against the sideof the yoke I. The cylinder N above the yoke I communicates with theforward end of the cylinder A by the pipe g, and the cylinder Ncommunicates with the back end of the cylinder A by the pipe g. Thepipes g and g' are provided with valves h h', and a pipe, i,communicating with the valve h. of the upper pipe, g, is connected withthe pipe y upon the main-cylinder side of the valve h', and the valve his connected by a pipe, i', with the pipe g upon the maiu-cylin der sideof the valve h. The valves h and h are each provided with a plug, j,which is capable of closing either one of the openings of the valve.Then the valves h and h are arranged to close the openings thereofleading to the cross-pipes i and i', steam entering the forward end ofthe cylinder will pass through the pipe g and force out the piston Ofrom the cylinder N, and cause the roller Q to bear upon the top of theyoke I, and when steam is admitted to the opposite end of the cylinderA. a pressure will be exerted upon the piston O of the cylinder N',forcing the roller Q against the under side of the yoke I, bringing thelower bar, J', into frictional contact with the frictionavheel L.

The standard F is prolonged above the yoke I to form a tappet, It, whichis vbored transversely to receive the valverod S, having near theopposite ends the collars 7c k', which are engaged alternately by thetappet R. The valve-rod S is connected through a lever, T, with the stemZ of the slide-valve C.

When steam is admitted to the forward end of the cylinder A, it not onlyacts upon the main piston of the engine to force it back, but itsimultaneously acts upon the piston O, contained by the cylinder N, sothat as the piston of the main cylinder tends to draw the yoke Ibackward the piston O, through the roller Q, presses the bar J intofrictional contact with the upper surface of the frictionwheel L, andcauses the friction-wheel L to rotate. The greater the steam-pressure inthe main cylinder the greater will be the pressure upon the bar .I tobring it into contact with the friction-wheel L.

When the piston of the main cylinder has about completed its rearwardstroke, the tappet R engages the collar 7c' on the valve-rod S andshifts the slide-valve C, so that steam is exhausted from the forwardend of the cylinder and admitted to the rear end of the cylinder. Thisshifts the piston O in the cylinder N and causes a pressure to be eX-erted upon the piston O of the cylinder N', bringing the bar J intofrictional contact with the friction-wheel L, and at the same timereleasing the bar J, so that as the piston moves outward the rotarymovement of the friction-wheel L is continued in the same directi on asbefore.

When the piston of the main cylinder completes its forward stroke, thevalve C is again shifted by the engagement of the tappet R with thecollar k on the valve-rod S, and steam is again admitted to the forwardend of the cylinder A, while it is allowed to exhaust from the rear end.

To reverse the motion of the friction-wh eel L and the main shaft K, theplugs of the valves h 7L' are turned so as to close the pipes gg' uponthe main-cylinder side of each valve, as indicated in dotted lines inFig. 1. This will result in conducting steam from the rear end of thecylinder A to the upper cylinder, N, through the pipe g', cross-pipe i,and pipe g, and steam will be conducted from the forward end of the maincylinder A through the pipe g, cross-pipe i', and that portion of thepipe g lying between the valve h and the cylinder N', so that when thepiston in the main cylinder moves backward the under surface of thefriction-Wheel L.will be engaged by the bar J', and the motion of thefriction-wheel and main shaft will he the reverse of that firstdescribed.

It will be observed that only a very slight movement of the yoke I isrequired to insure the engagement or disengagement of the bars J J' andthe friction-wheel L.

To facilitate the reversing of the engine,the

plugs of the valves h h may be connected together or provided withsuitable means for operating them simultaneously.

Although I have described a means for operating the slide-valve C, I donot limit or confine myself to this particular means, as other existingwell-known devices may be employed for the same purpose.

It is obvious that either of the steam-cylinders may be madedouble-acting and provided with a prolonged piston rod arranged to carryboth of the rollers Q, when the pipes g g would be connected withopposite ends of that cylinder, and one of the cylinders might bedispensed with.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a steam-engine, the combination, with the main cylinder, piston,and piston-rod of the engine, of a yoke embracing a frictionwheel on themain shaft of the engine, and one or more steam-actuated pistons forbringing the yoke into engagement with the sides of the friction -wheel,substantially as herein specified.

2. The combination, with the steam-cylinder A and its piston andpiston-rod, of a yoke, I, having parallel side bars, .I J', andconnected movably with the piston-rod, steamcylinders N N', pistons O,and friction-rollers Q, and steam-pipes g g', connecting the cylinders NN with opposite ends of the main cylinder A, as herein specified.

3. The combination, with the cylinders N N' and steam-pipes g g',leading thereto, of cross-pipesz' z" and valves h h', substantially asherein shown and described.

4. In a steam-engine, the combination of the main cylinder A and itspiston and pistonrod, the yoke I, friction-wheel L, cylinders N N',pistons O, and friction-rollers Q, the pipes g g', cross-pipes i i', andthe valves h h', as herein specified.

5. In a steam-engine, the combination, with the main cylinder A and itspiston and piston-rod, of the standard F, yoke I, frictionwheel L,cylinders N N and their pistons, pipes g g', connecting the cylinders NN' with opposite ends of the main cylinder A, and the tappet R',valve-rod S, provided with collars 7c k', the lever T, and slide-valveC, substantially as specied.

BENJAMIN THOMAS VEBB.

Witnesses:

GEO. B. Corns, B. A. FELTON.

IOO

